Onyekachi Apam is The Newest Seattle Sounders FC Player

The Seattle Sounders welcomed their newest player to the team Tuesday during training at Starfire Soccer Complex. Who is this new player you ask? His name is Onyekachi Apam.

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Apam is a Nigerian center back who previously played in France for Ligue 1 side OGC Nice and Stade Rennes. I won’t act like I knew who Apam is because I don’t or should say didn’t. You may be asking yourself why the Sounders signed the Nigerian. One person had a huge influence on getting Apam to sign with Seattle. That person is none other than Obafemi Martins.

Martins and Apam played together for the Nigerian national team and had some influence on him signing with the Sounders.

"“I said, ‘You have to come because this is a good team,’” Martins said. “If you are going to come to MLS, this is one of the best teams. We have good players as well, so it’s going to make it easier for you to play.”"

I view the Apam signing as a good one. The Sounders have lacked depth at the center back position and that was only hampered more with the recent injury to Zach Scott last week against FC Dallas. Chad Marshall has been a mainstay in the lineup besides missing a few games in late July and early August. Earlier in the season Djimi Traore was paired with Marshall until an injury in May sidelined him. Since then Traore has hardly seen any minutes in league play.

After Tuesday’s practice head coach Sigi Schmid told MLSSoccer.com he likes his quickness and instincts.

"“There were good things at the beginning of practice – goals in tight,” Schmid said. “He’s got good defensive tendencies, which is one of the things we wanted. He’s got good quickness, which is another thing we were looking for.”"

As of right now it is up in the air as to what role Apam will play.

"“It’s a matter of making sure that we get him fit and get him up to speed so we give him an opportunity to do well and not put him into a situation too early,” Schmid said. “I definitely think that the next two or three games is probably too early. But I’m not going to put a timetable on it.”"

I personally hope that he is fit and ready to go. The Sounders could desperately use him during this critical four game stretch.

Quotes courtesy of MLSsoccer.com.

Author’s note: Red, White and Green is Playing for 90′s column aimed at focusing on the Cascadian (Pacific Northwest) teams. In MLS, three teams – Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver – battle for the Cascadia Cup each year. Red, White, and Green will give a critical eye to Cascadia teams. The column is named Red, White, and Green based on the team colors. Red for the Portland Timbers as they are known as “Rose City”, white for the Vancouver Whitecaps as it is their primary color when they play, and lastly green for the Seattle Sounders as they wear “Rave Green” for most matches, home or away.